Adam Vinatieri is vouching for one of his own in the kicking family in that Morten Anderson should make the Hall of Fame.

"For me, it's a little disappointing," Indianapolis Colts plackerkicker Adam Vinatieri said of the lack of attention given to specialists. "But you hear some of the analysts on ESPN or wherever and they say we don't deserve to be in there, that we don't do anything and blah, blah, blah.

"Every player on a team plays his own role in helping his team be successful and win championships. Kickers and punters do their share. At the end of the day, we can have a big influence on the outcome of a game."

Andersen, 53, retired following 2007 season after playing in an NFL-record 382 games. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and attended Ben Davis High School as a senior exchange student.

In an interview with The Star last summer, Andersen conceded it takes a unique mentality to do what he did for as long as he did it.

"A lot of hard work and tremendous will. The will to want to do it," he said. "You have to be a little twisted. It's a very single-minded journey. You have to be real focused and selfish and a lot of things that are not really great traits but important for high achievers.

"High achievers sometimes are not the nicest people. They're really focused and disciplined. They can be (jerks)."